Once you have joined the covenant the following are the most important aspects of Gravelording:

The area boss in YOUR game MUST be alive.

Your victims (aka infected) do not need their boss alive.

Oh_QuelaagPosted 1/24/2012 6:17:27 PMGravelording is unadulterated Survival Mode PvP. If you don't like dying, waiting or fighting off constantly invading phantoms, this covenant isn't for you. This is very TL;DR so ctrl+F is your friend if you’re looking for anything specific.

The Gravelord Servant CovenantJoin by taking a run down to the Catacombs and making your way to the end of the corridor with the titanite Demon. Just before him on the left is a coffin that will give you the "Nestle in coffin" command with X. You need to stay in there for a while and also have at least 1 Eye of Death in your inventory (there are three behind the titanite Demon). You will be taken to Nito's chamber where you join the covenant.

To Gravelord effectively, the boss in your world for that area of the game needs to be alive and you need to be in human form. You need to be invadable. Your victims' bosses need not be alive as they invade you via your sign and they can be either hollow or human. You can use the eye if the boss is dead, but no curses will be deployed and you won't be invaded in that area. Ever.

Take note: You will not be kicked out of the covenant for killing Nito. It is a game requirement that you kill him, so killing your boss will have no effect on your covenant membership. The only penalty is that you cannot offer Eyes of Death to level up the covenant for that playthrough.

Level RangesThe level ranges of worlds you curse are the same as with normal co-op: your level +- 10% + 10. For example, an SL 10 Gravelord Servant can curse people between SL 1 and SL 21 and an SL 100 Servant between SL 80 and SL 120. Darkwraith ranges are as usual.

Covenant ItemEye of Death - Farmed from Basilisks (curse frogs) in the Depths or in the Great Hollow.Fun Fact: The Eyes of Death are actually the "eye" appendages on top of the Basilisks' heads and generate the curse mist that the Basilisk spits. Gravelords channel the power in these eyes to other worlds to spread their own brand of curse, collecting the eyes of their cursed victims to continue the cycle.

The Basilisks' real eyes are two white dots just above their mouths (see for yourself by equipping Ring of Fog and Slumbering Dragonquest Ring and use binoculars or on any idling Basilisk. Cute aren't they?).

GravelordingUse an Eye of Death to curse the worlds of three players in the same area as you. Cursing worlds is an outcome, not the objective of Gravelording. The objective is to lure those phantoms to your world so that you can fight them and harvest their eyes along with the constantly incoming Darkwraiths.

Think of the blue phantoms as the "powerup dropping" enemies and the Darkwraiths as the standard footsoldiers. Really really varied and powerful footsoldiers...

The trickiest part of Gravelording is finding an area with people to curse. You need to be at the right place, at the right time and at the right Soul Level. Before using an eye, scout out the area to look for any summon signs (Red, White, Gold or Dragon). Any sign you see is a world you will very likely curse, so if you see two or more signs around the level (especially at bonfires or in front of the boss fog), you’re good to go.

While an eye is active, you cannot summon phantoms to help you and your invasion timer is automatically reset after the defeat of an invader, so this ensures a constant stream of people that want to kill your cursing ***. When more than one Gravelord Servant is active in an area, their signs become visible to each other, which means that you can invade to help or duel a fellow Gravelord Servant.

Show your fellow Gravelordism by waving the Gravelord Sword or dropping an Eye of Death.

Oh_QuelaagPosted 1/24/2012 6:18:40 PMThe game area you Gravelord is important too since low traffic areas at a wrong Soul Level are pointless. (NOTE: The following is the authors opinion Soul level and Activity in the area are the main factors ask in this forum for details(Edit by DxV04))Not recommended areas are Anor Londo, Lower Undead Burg, the Depths, Blighttown and Lost Izalith.

My personal favourite areas:

- Just outside the first bonfire in Undead Burg- The Hellkite Dragon bridge- The area with the drop down to the hidden bonfire at the top of Sen’s Fortress- The bonfire hall and Mimic room in Duke’s Archives- The arena at the base of the Crow people tower in Painted World of Ariamis- Just outside the Darkroot Garden bonfire- The second bonfire in Demon Ruins (past the Capras)- The second bonfire in the Catacombs (great for bridge lever games)- The first bonfire in Tomb of the Giants (Gravelording down there is just mean. Do it)- Just outside the elevator door in New Londo ruins

Since you probably won’t listen:- The hall in front of where Domhnall sits in the Depths- The bonfire room in Anor Londo- The tunnel and the combat pit at the bonfire at the bottom of Blighttown

Don’t bother with lost Izalith. Seriously.

This idea is also very very good: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/606312-dark-souls/61713531

Your sign will appear in the worlds of the cursed as a larger than normal white sign with a black smoke effect. when touched, the victim will invade your world as a Spirit of Vengeance. The sign moves around with the Gravelord Servant so it's recommended that you keep near to bonfires and keep in open areas where it will be clearly visible. Be patient. It takes a while for the curses to drop sometimes but once they're active the invasions will begin (anything between 1 and 3 minutes. You can also be invaded between curse placements). (NOTE: I actually do not agree with this. The same thing happens if you are just a host with a red stone it will behave the same way. However it is useful as a warning that you are being invaded if you are not near a bonfire or fog door(Edit by DxV04))You can actually watch your curses being spread using the white soapstone. If it becomes unusable in your usable item slot and you don't get invaded it means a curse is being placed. Once it's done this three times, you know it's on.

If you do not see any online activity in 5 minutes at the most, move on. (Or if you saw WSS or RSS signs on the ground but no action it could be a connection problem. Try reloading your game by going to the start screen.)

You can be Gravelorded while you Gravelord and use of this covenant’s miracles are at your discretion. I’ve never had any luck with them.

Invasions & InvadersThere are 3 invasion slots that open when you're Gravelording; These can be filled by Dark Spirits (Darkwraiths) or by (Edit by DxV04) Spirits of Vengeance (either from Darkmoons or invasions via the sign or both). If an invading Darkwraith kills a Spirit of Vengeance, the Gravelord Servant and the Darkwraith will receive an Eye of Death. This not only makes for efficient Eye farming, but dark side jolly cooperation or duel hosting!

If a Gravelord Servant kills a Spirit of Vengeance, they receive an Eye of Death and souls. If a Spirit of Vengeance kills the Gravelord Servant, they receive an Eye of Death and are sent home with a humanity and souls. Darkmoon Blades that invade as Spirits of Vengeance will not drop an Eye of Death if killed.

Spirits of Vengeance lose nothing when they die in an invaded world, so be a sport and invade your neighbourhood Gravelord Servant when you see their sign.

Side note: Using the Dried Finger while Gravelording is not advised. It causes failed invasions and does absolutely nothing as having an Eye of Death active constantly resets the invasion timer anyway.

Cancelling the EffectThe Gravelording effect will be cancelled if you:

- warp from a bonfire.- use a homeward bone or the Homeward miracle- die- exit the game or sign out of PSN

It will not be cancelled if you rest at a bonfire or move to another area by foot.

Some usefull info if you happen to see BPs in your worldThanks Beggargirl!!

A few days ago DarknessxVega was wonderful enough to stop by my Undead Burg to Gravelord me with the intention of getting Gravelord Black Phantoms, and the secondary intention of attempting to intentionally Perma-Gravelord my game.

Our attmept at getting Black Phantoms was immediately successful on the first attempt, and we (at least I) learned a few interesting thigs in the successive attempts to curse me again and make them permanent.

As you may know gravelords will infect multiple worlds when they drop an eye of death. The people infected will be the ones located the same lobby as the gravelord. Of these only one or a few will actually be affected by Black Phantoms, while many more will be able to see the Gravelord's sign though their world is otherwise unaffected.

DarknessxVega loaded up Dark Souls and then had me red soap stone into his world. He killed me and then immediately dropped an eye of death. By doing so he ensured we were in the same lobby. Maybe because I was one of the first people he connected with since starting the game, or maybe because of luck, on my return to my world the Black Phantoms generated within half a minute or so (and killed me as I was writing a message).

Now that I had the black phantoms in my world it was time to try to make them permanent. The idea behind perma-gravelording is that you sever the connection between you and the gravelord so that the victim never gets the "Disasters are Gone After the Defeat of the Gravelord Servant" message, and therefore the curse is unable to end.

I dashboarded out and then returned to the game after DarknessxVega had finished gravelording. I loaded up my character and was immediately greeted with Black Phantoms despite the gravelord no longer being active.

I white soap stone summoned DarknessxVega into my world to run though my Burg to play with the black phantoms. About half a minute after DarknessxVega's death I got a "Disasters are Gone" message and the black phantoms were gone upon spawning at the bonfire. Whether this message had appeared due to Vega's death, or whether I had been coincidentally cursed by someone else is unclear.

DarknessxVega had dropped an eye of death and started Gravelording immediately after dying, and in the brief period before I got the "Disasters are Gone" message. Using the dried finger after I walked out into the Burg from the bonfire immediately caused the Black Phantoms to come into existence. It seems the Black Phantoms operate on an invasion timer, and won't appear until it has run out or been reset.

We then set out to see if Perma-Gravelroding was possible from the gravelord's as well as the victim's side. DarknessxVega quitting the game while he gravelorded me also caused me to be Perma-Gravelorded.

Last edited by DxV04 on Thu Oct 03, 2013 2:53 am; edited 12 times in total (Reason for editing : Making it user friendly.)

Yup this is source that helped me get into Gravelording like a pro. Props for re posting this, it was kind of lost in the User Covenant thread.

The best tip I found in the link is using the WSS like a guidestone to tell you if your curses are dropping and if someone is invading you. It went from being a useless talisman in my inventory to a key piece of Gravelording equipment.

No, that means your connections to other worlds is not good (32 player lobby or specific players trying to invade you). You must quit and reload to reset your connection. You don't have to go to dashboard, but just quit and reload your game.

That has happened to me many times and that usually solves it.

Edit:Sorry for the late reply. Edit2: When I say your connection I don't mean YOUR connection but the game's code that connects you or most likely the other player connections are bad.

i just for the first time got the message "disasters are gone after the defeat of the gravelord". i had never seen it before and was wondering what it meant... from what i gather, i was cursed by someone that i invaded or was invaded by? is that correct?

Is getting Darkwraiths a proper way to spread misery? I found a spot on Painted World that I don't get many Darkwraith invasions. I get SoVs because my sign is close to bonfire, just after the door, so anyone heading to Bonewheels or Priscilla can see it. If anyone is tormented by BP bonewheels can also try to kill me instead.

HAH! I just noticed that you linked my old friend. You are a good friend, comrade.

I will hopefully one day get a recorder, and when I do I will show you how to make a quick build. Sometimes seeing is better than reading to get a general idea as of how to become a gravelord with ease.

EDIT: As for the Gravelord Miracle, it funnctions of similar quality as the fire tempest and storm, however their is one problem. It can go in further length and spread out, as well as the swords can overlap each other. So, if you really want to use it, remember a few things:

The use inside a narrow corridor would be useful for close combat against invaders, however not far away. If fighting many, using it in an open area could give you a chance to hit all of them, or noen at all.

It is by far a miracle, as it uses the aspect of fate and in general faith. Such faith includes the right roll of the dice.

WyrmHero wrote:I'm mid-way working on my GL build. Smough's Hammer, medium armor, Thorolund Talisman, Power Within and GLGS Dance. Also will be at GL rank +3 for maximum power of the miracle.

The GLGSD is a brilliant finisher. Don't let anyone tell you you need a narrow space to use this the range on the blades is significant and can sometimes reach, if deployed correctly all to chip at the enemies shields.

Also I reccommend that you show red phantoms no, I repeat, NO MERCY FOR THIS IS NITO! (Kick em off a bridge) were talking about here and they are the only people who really mess with you GL sessions.

I also like the Smoughs Hammer Build but why choose the hammer in the first place? Aren't there better weapons in that particular set.

Viral the Hammer is amazing. It is so big and unusual it scares people. With 39 str I have 651 AR two handed. Not counting Power Within, I'm doing almost 500 damage with one strike of PURE RAW physical damage. The rolling R1 is the same as the great club. It's amazing.

WyrmHero wrote:Viral the Hammer is amazing. It is so big and unusual it scares people. With 39 str I have 651 AR two handed. Not counting Power Within, I'm doing almost 500 damage with one strike of PURE RAW physical damage. The rolling R1 is the same as the great club. It's amazing.

True now where is my build foolish mortal! (sees hammer and backs off). Your build would be nice to fight in a Gravelord Duel to the death!

Ok well I have a question. The wiki says that if a cursed player is killed that their bloodstain will be robbed of half of its souls which are then awarded to the gravelorder. Does anybody have experience on this? I've never spontaneously received souls while gravelording so I'm assuming this part of the covenant is broken and/or that info is simply untrue.

Also, what causes curses to be spread? I've heard that killing an ivading spirit of vengeance will spread the curse to three additional words, but i've also read that cursed players dying will also cause the curse to be spread again. Does anyone know the deal here?

Fuzzlewhack wrote:Ok well I have a question. The wiki says that if a cursed player is killed that their bloodstain will be robbed of half of its souls which are then awarded to the gravelorder. Does anybody have experience on this? I've never spontaneously received souls while gravelording so I'm assuming this part of the covenant is broken and/or that info is simply untrue.

The wiki needs to be changed then. This is simply not true. The official guide makes no mention that a player who has been stricken down by a BP from a gravelord curse will yield to the gravelord who cursed him souls.

Fuzzlewhack wrote:Also, what causes curses to be spread? I've heard that killing an ivading spirit of vengeance will spread the curse to three additional words, but i've also read that cursed players dying will also cause the curse to be spread again. Does anyone know the deal here?

Well that would be really really cool but the official guide does not give any input about such a mechanic. During the first patching the limit of players in a peer to peer group was increased from 16 to 32. The gravelord sign appears in all of those worlds but only 3 of those worlds get cursed with BPs.

What is the upper level limit for infecting? Does it wokr like red eye orb or can you only infect up a certain amount of levels?

_________________There's more to them - Want to know why your favourite NPC is in lordran? Find out here.Farewell to my Noble Knights, while we lived we were mighty. May we meet again in the next game.The post that started the legend XD

DoughGuy wrote:What is the upper level limit for infecting? Does it wokr like red eye orb or can you only infect up a certain amount of levels?

That is still another mistery. It seems that if there is a difference in the curse power from one rank to the next it seems to stop at rank +2. There does not seem to be anything for +3 but it is just a theory.